Lutheran Confessions

Take Action on Immigration Reform

2009-12-16T12:34:00.001-06:00

I just took action on CIR ASAP, a recently-introduced just and humane immigration reform bill. Please consider taking action to support this bill! Our leaders need to hear from constitutents that our immigration system is broken. Click here for more information about Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service's Stand for Welcome campaign: http://www.lirs.org/sfw and click here to take action: http://www.lirs.org/action

Praying the Psalms with 30 People in an Online Community

2009-12-16T08:35:00.002-06:00

Reading a sermon of John Donne in Ellen Davis's wonderful book: Wondrous Depth, Preaching the Old Testament. Donne was a prebend at St. Paul's Church, and there were 30 prebends altogether. Between the 30 of them, they prayed all 150 psalms each day, five psalms assigned to each prebend to pray daily. What are the odds we could form a Facebook/Blogger/Twitter prebendary, 30 folks who agree to pray five assigned psalms daily?

Country Music and Proverbs, vote for your favorites

2009-12-15T15:54:00.001-06:00

Use this link, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8HRRXKZ to vote for the best country music songs for our worship band to cover and sing during Lent as we reflect on links between the Proverbs in Scripture and the text of country music songs.

Survey: Americans mix and match religions, borrow from New Age and Eastern beliefs | StarTribune.com

2009-12-12T09:19:00.000-06:00

Survey: Americans mix and match religions, borrow from New Age and Eastern beliefs | StarTribune.com

So what's up with 16% of the population believing in the "evil eye"?

Bringing the Text Forward in Preaching

2009-12-10T22:34:00.000-06:00

Mary Hinkle Shore on WorkingPreacher.org speaking about bringing the text forward in preaching.

Amazon.com: Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street (9781439183120): Jim Wallis: Books

2009-12-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

Amazon.com: Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street (9781439183120): Jim Wallis: Books

About Jim Wallis's New Book

2009-12-10T14:51:00.001-06:00

"I have written a new book -- one I didn’t expect or plan to write, but one that simply emerged as we were seeking to respond to the economic crisis that has gripped the nation and the world. I wrote it as a tract for the times, and it’s titled Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street -- A Moral Compass for the New Economy. It will be released by Simon & Schuster in January and is available now for pre-orders.

This recession presents us with an enormous opportunity to rediscover our values -- as people, as families, as communities of faith, and as a nation. It is a moment of decision we dare not pass by. We have forgotten some very important things, and it’s time to remember them again. Yes, we do need an economic recovery, but we also need a moral recovery -- on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street. And we will need a moral compass for the new economy that is emerging.

The Great Recession that has gripped the world, defined the moment, and captured all of our attention has also revealed a profound values crisis. Just beneath the surface of the economics debate, a deep national reflection is begging to take place and, indeed, has already begun in people’s heads, hearts, and conversations. The questions it raises concern our personal, family, and national priorities; our habits of the heart; our measures of success; the values of our families and our children; our spiritual well-being; and the ultimate goals and purposes of life -- including our economic life.

Underneath the public discourse, another conversation is emerging about who and what we want to be -- as individuals, as a nation, and as a human community. By and large, the media has missed the deeper discussion and continues to focus only upon the surface of the crisis. And most of our politicians just want to tell us how soon the crisis can be over. But there are deeper questions here and some fundamental choices to make. That’s why this could be a transformational moment -- one of those times that comes around only very occasionally. We don’t want to miss this opportunity.

The economic tide going out has not only shown us who was “swimming naked,” as Warren Buffett put it, but it has also revealed that no invisible hand b e hind the curtain is guiding our economy to inevitable success. It is a sobering moment in our lives when we can see our own thoughtlessness, greed, and impatience writ large across the global sky. And it is a good time to start asking better questions.

The book suggests we have been asking the wrong question: “When will this crisis end?” It seeks to replace that with the right question: “How will this crisis change us?” The book is about the moral recovery which must accompany the economic recovery, and suggests that we must not go back to business as usual; rather, we need a new normal. The new book is about the values questions that are at the heart of how we got into this crisis, and are critical to getting us out of it. It describes the maxims that overtook us -- Greed is Good, It’s All About Me, and I Want it Now -- values that wreck economies, cultures, families, and even our souls. Instead it calls for a return to new/old virtues like Enough is Enough, We’re In It Together, and evaluating our decisions by their impact on the Seventh Generation out.

It also calls for a conversion of our habits of the heart to a clean energy economy, a family values culture, and a new meaning for both work and service. It suggests that, spiritually, the market had become god-like, and that restoring proper worship even means recognizing the limits of the market. The book describes how our many religious traditions contain many valuable correctives to this economic crisis that has spun out of control. It describes how the recent narrative of banks, bailouts, and bonuses has all the makings of a bad morality play. And it ends with 20 “moral exercises” that offer a values audit of our personal, family, community, financial, and social life.

Could there be some good news in, through, and even because of this Great Recession? Maybe so, if it becomes the opportunity to rediscover some important things that we somehow lost, but now might find again."

Protestant Blog Ethic: You are invited to arrange and produce a new Jonathan Rundman recording!

2009-12-10T14:45:00.000-06:00

Protestant Blog Ethic: You are invited to arrange and produce a new Jonathan Rundman recording!

Works of Mercy

2009-12-10T14:40:00.001-06:00

[excerpted from Wikipedia, I try to review these regularly and then review my life to see how they compare. It is a good spiritual discipline I commend to everyone]

--

Corporal works of mercy

Corporal Works of Mercy are those that tend to bodily needs. The The Judgement of Nations (Matthew 25:31-46) enumerates such acts -- though not this precise list -- as the reason for the salvation of the saved, and the omission of them as the reason for damnation. The last work of mercy, burying the dead, comes from the Book of Tobit.

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the Homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead

Spiritual works of mercy

Not everyone is considered capable or obligated to perform the first three spiritual works of mercy if they do not have proper tact, knowledge or training to do so. The last four are considered to be the obligation of all people without condition.

Instruct the ignorant;
Counsel the doubtful;
Admonish sinners;
Bear wrongs patiently;
Forgive offences willingly;
Comfort the afflicted;
Pray for the living and the dead.

Lutheran World Relief Global Development Strategy

2009-12-09T15:13:00.000-06:00

Lutheran World Relief

Petition the White House for a Global Development Strategy

Right now, President Obama and his senior advisors are debating the future of U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, fight disease, and create economic opportunity for the world’s poorest people.

National Security Advisor James Jones and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers are urgently preparing recommendations for how the whole U.S. government should do development in in the 21st century.

Join LWR and the rest of the development community and sign the first-ever petition asking the White House to make a strong statement about America’s commitment to development. We need 150,000 signatures by December 17th.

ARE:A Renewal Enterprise:

2009-12-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

ARE:A Renewal Enterprise:

Anyone else familiar with this coaching resource and can give comment?

No Disciples, No Mission - Alan Hirsch | Catalyst

2009-12-07T23:30:00.000-06:00

No Disciples, No Mission - Alan Hirsch | Catalyst

Holiday Books - 'The Red Book - Liber Novus,' by C. G. Jung - Review - NYTimes.com

2009-12-06T22:10:00.000-06:00

Holiday Books - 'The Red Book - Liber Novus,' by C. G. Jung - Review - NYTimes.com

This is the first time I've been tempted to purchase a book that costs $195. And I can't even say why exactly...

Town Hall Forum - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

2009-12-03T21:41:00.000-06:00

Town Hall Forum - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Trinity Wall Street - News & Blogs - Features - 2009 Advent Calendar

2009-12-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

Trinity Wall Street - News & Blogs - Features - 2009 Advent Calendar This weds technology and faith practices in an amazing way!

No Longer Silent

2009-11-28T15:40:00.000-06:00

No Longer Silent Tex Sample provides a helpful, clear, and brief argument, grounded in Scripture and tradition, for gay marriage.

Once in Doubt, Credit for Prayer Won’t Change - NYTimes.com

2009-11-27T21:08:00.000-06:00

Once in Doubt, Credit for Prayer Won’t Change - NYTimes.com

Resettling Bhutanese Refugees in Madison

2009-11-25T15:01:00.001-06:00

Thanks to the hard work of many local congregations, and especially the staff of LSS of Wisconsin, Madison is now a sub-office for refugee resettlement. Four families have already arrived in 2009, and we anticipate 125 refugees arriving in 2010. St. John Lutheran of Madison is the gracious host for the new office space for this sub-office.

Most if not all of the refugees arriving in Madison will be Bhutanese. These refugees have been in refugee camps in SE Nepal since 1991, around 18 years! They have been anticipating moving to a new country for a very long time.

Congregations and individuals in our synod have a variety of opportunities to welcome them and help with resettlement. These include:

1) Congregations can contact the refugee resettlement office to volunteer as co-sponsoring congregation. Congregations that co-sponsor a family commit to approximately six months of hands on support for a refugee family.

2) Individuals can volunteer to help with one-time or on-going tasks, like helping on move-in day when the family arrives and moves into their apartment, or as a bus buddy, helping refugees find their way around the city by bus.

3) Congregations or individuals can donated furniture, household goods, and clothing.

If you are interested in any of these possibilities, call Rebekah Johnson, 414.325.3098, or e-mail at rebekah.Johnson@lsswis.org

Thanks to Rebekah and many others who are making this a reality, where we have the opportunity in a very concrete way to fulfill the biblical mandate to welcome the stranger. If you are interested in speaking with congregations who already have experience with refugee resettlement, or are looking for a speaker on refugee resettlement, feel free to contact Pastor Clint Schnekloth, contact information below.

Top 15 Albums of the Decade

2009-11-25T14:49:00.003-06:00

This is a completely unscientific, subjective list of what may be the best 15 albums of the last decade. I compiled the list by looking through what I have in my piles of CDs and on the hard drive. I've probably over-looked a ton of great music, and the list doesn't include any jazz. Maybe that requires a separate list. Anyway, here goes:

15. Dr. Dog- Fate
14. Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
13. Calexico- Carried to Dust
12. M.I.A.- Arular
11. Robert Plant/Alison Krauss- Raising Sand
10. Sinead O'Connor- Theology
9. Thom Yorke- Eraser
8. Bob Dylan- Love and Theft
7. Iron & Wine- Shepherd's Dog
6. The Decemberists- The Hazards of Love
5. Wilco- Live in Chicago
4. Gillian Welch- Time (Revelator)
3. Radiohead- In Rainbows
2. Rickie Lee Jones- Sermon on Exposition Boulevard
1. The National- Boxer

Paste's Top Ten Books of the Decade

2009-11-23T20:57:00.002-06:00

Paste magazine came today, and they featured their "tops" of the decade. This intimidates me. I really like "top ten" lists for each year, but top ten for a decade starts to seem exhaustive.

That said, I liked their top ten for the decade in books, and I in large part agree with them. Here it is:

10. David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays: Hands down the best and most memorable collection of essays I have ever read in my whole life

9. Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything is Illuminated: Didn't read it, but I think we read one of his other novels in book group

8. Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking: An amazing cartography of grief, it helped me think through grief in my own life and parish ministry

7. Craig Thompson, Blankets: A graphic novel that kind of defines the genre. Amazing. Seems like this genre is often autobiographical, but in this case it works very well.

6. Markus Zusak, The Book Thief: Haven't read it, though more than one person has recommended it to me.

5. Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex: Read this one in book group, great for discussion and profound on the immigrant experiences and change, among other things.

4. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead: This is the only book in the last decade, other than the Bible, that I read three times. I would have ranked it #1 on the list.

3. Cormac McCarthy, The Road: I listened to this as a book on a tape a few years ago, and I was riveted. I'd lengthen my drives to keep listening. It's amazing. I'd rank it #2, after Gilead.

2. Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: I'd prefer to give this award to his book Zeitoun, but this one was good also. Dave Eggers is one of my heroes.

1. Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Chabon is another one of my heroes. I've started this novel twice but haven't finished it yet. I would have ranked his Yiddish Policeman's Union as a tie with Gilead for #1.

5.

Book Review - 'Reading Jesus - A Writer’s Encounter With the Gospels,' by Mary Gordon - Review - NYTimes.com

2009-11-21T20:13:00.000-06:00

Book Review - 'Reading Jesus - A Writer’s Encounter With the Gospels,' by Mary Gordon - Review - NYTimes.com

Crossroads - How Can We Help the World’s Poor? - NYTimes.com

2009-11-21T20:07:00.000-06:00

Crossroads - How Can We Help the World’s Poor? - NYTimes.com

Lectionary Greek

2009-11-16T22:49:00.000-06:00

Lectionary Greek Takes a look at the Greek for upcoming lectionary texts.

Reader's Version of Greek and Hebrew Bible

2009-11-16T22:46:00.000-06:00

Reader's Version of Greek and Hebrew Bible

You can set this Reader's Bible to give you as little as much help as you need to read the Bible in the original language.

View buy Disfarmer black and white photographs of rural America in the 1940's

2009-11-16T21:38:00.000-06:00

View buy Disfarmer black and white photographs of rural America in the 1940's

These are stunning photos. Discovered Disfarmer because of Bill Frisell's new album that came out this year evoking Disfarmer's conceptuality. Wow.